Charles r



(No Model.)

0. R. PATTERSON.

FURNITURE GASTER.

No; 452,940. Patented May 26, 1891.

FIG.1. FIG-2.

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CHARLES R. PATTERSON,

ATENT rrica.

OF GREENFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FAY BALDWVIN, OF SAME PLACE.

FURNITURE CASTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 452,910, dated May 26, 1891.. Application filed November 10, 1890. Serial No. 370,880- (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES R. PATTER- soN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Greenfield, in the county of Highland and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Furniture-Casters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being had to the annexed 1o drawings, which form part of this specification.

My invention comprises a peculiar combination of devices wherewith the pintle or pivot of a f urniture-caster is held in the socket I 5 with sufficient security to prevent it accidentally dropping out, while at the same time said pintle can be readily detached at any moment by a slight exertion of force, as hereinafter more fully described, and pointed out in the claim.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of the pintle of my improved caster, the upper part of said pintle being sectioned, and the spring to be used therewith being detached. Fig. 2 is an axial section of the complete caster fitted within the leg or foot of an article of furniture.

A represents the pintle, pivot, or axis of any form of caster, and Bis a transverse slot near the upper end thereof.

O O are longitudinal grooves communicating, respectively, with the opposite ends of this slot and carried up to the top of pintle A.

D is a short piece of spring-wire whose op- 3 5 posite ends are bent upwardly at E E.

F is a socket or bushing inserted in the lower end of a leg or foot or other supporting member G of an article of furniture or other object to be wheeled around from place to place.

My improved caster is fitted together in the followingmanner: The springDis first passed through the slot 13 of pintle A, and its bent ends E E are compressed to fit snugly within the longitudinal grooves O O, thereby enabling said pintle to be readily inserted in the socket or bushing F. The pintle is shoved up until the slot B is fairly above the upper end of socket F, at which moment the spring ends E E automatically fly outwardly, and thus hold said pintle within said socket, as seen in Fig. 2. It is evident the article of furniture can now be lifted or wheeled about without causing the pintle to drop out, but said pintle can be readily detached at any time when desired. To accomplish this result, sufficient force must be exerted against the pintle to pull it forward and compel the spring ends E E to bend back and again occupy the grooves O C, after which act said pintle is withdrawn bodily from its socket. This rebending of the spring to liberate the pintle is of course effected by the ends E E bearing against the top of socket F as said pintle is drawn forward.

The great advantage of my invention is that it can be readily adapted to old casters without adding a single extra device, except the short piece of spring-wire, the slotting and grooving of the pintle being accomplished in a few minutes with the proper tools. Furthermore, the invention permits the use of the old form of sockets, which can be applied to furniture legs or feet by any artisan. Finally, my invention is applicable to the ordinary form of caster-pintles, or to those pintles which are provided with one or more anti-friction rollers.

I am aware it is not new to provide casterpint-les with springs that contract and allow the pintles to be withdrawn by the exertion of some unusual force, and therefore my claim is not designed to cover this feature broadly, but is expressly limited to the speciiic combination of parts herein shown and described.

I claim as my invention -An article of furniture provided with a bore, a bushing F, of relatively less length than said here and fitted therein, a pintle A, 0 having a transverse slot B, and a pair of vertical grooves O C, that communicate with said slot and extend to the upper end of said pintle, and a wire D, inserted in said slotB and having upwardly-bent ends E E, that spring outwardly and occupy a chamber formed between the upper ends of said bore and bushing, whereby the pintlc is the only part of the device that turns within the socket,

and whereby accidental detachment of said pintie is prevented, but intentional with- In Witness whereof I ai'fix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

drawa-i is effected by exerting suflieient force CHARLES R. PATTERSON. to bend said ends E E back into said grooves C O by bringing them in contact with the .'W.itnesses:

tops of said bnshingF,aiiasherein described, XVILLIAM I'I. IRWIN,

and for the purpose stated. J. FRANK \VILSON. 

